L-Theanine

The most praised quality of L-Theanine is that it delivers relaxation without sedation.

This is one of the most popular Nutraceuticals because it so frequently validated by everyone from researchers and health gurus to consumers and patients that claim this ingredient boosts focus, increases creativity, and reduces the body's stress response. The pharmacological implications of supplementing it have a wide variety of applications. At least 79 scientific studies have been done on L-Theanine according to Pubmed.

It is popular amongst Biohackers because it 'takes the edge off' or tranquilizes some of the intense sensations resulting from neurotransmitters fine tuned for a kickass day, that's why it's an ingredient in these Nootropic Stacks.

L-Theanine has been proven to stimulate alpha brain waves, especially in the posterior portions of the cortex, thus producing a feeling of relaxation, it is also very effective at reducing blood pressure. These four recent double blind human studies all showed 'statistically significant' positive results in stress response, anxiety and even schizophrenia. 'Statistically Significant' is scientific jargon for something that actually works for real people, the data collected in a given set of experiments is enough to say there is both correlation and causality between two things.

Sources:

My personal favorite source of L-Theanine is Green Tea (of which I sometimes consume as much as 3 liters a day of), which has, for millennia been regarded as a fast acting tool for relaxation, stress relief and summoning creative genius. Theanine aminos are actually what give green tea it's taste.

To quote one of the studies that was published in 2011 in the Journal of Functional Foods: "Normal healthy volunteers with high anxiety and with minimal anxiety propensity were employed[in the study]. 200 mg of l-theanine intake was found effective for healthy people with high anxiety propensity."

Scientists have speculated that L-theanine may improve one's memory recall ability and improve their learning habits. It does so by stimulating the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. In addition to streamlining focus, dopamine and serotonin are largely involved in mood regulation. One behavioral study conducted with rats indicated that L-theanine consistently increased the animal's performance accuracy by nearly 20%. To quote a University of Shiga human study: "Results evidently demonstrated that l-theanine clearly has a pronounced effect on attention performance and reaction time response in normal healthy subjects prone to have high anxiety."

This means that a diet high in L-Theanine is a great idea for professionals whose day to day responsibilities require high attention performance such as:

Bankers and finance professionals, who can get fired for as little as missing a single (yet oh so important!) comma in stack of paperwork.

Surgeons, practicing physicians and really anyone in the medical industry that deals directly with patients.

Those in technology sales or sales engineers, who sell a very complicated bespoke product whose commissioned incomes are based upon reacting quickly to the objections and questions of their sophisticated clients.

Day traders, who need to absorb large amounts of information quickly about financial vehicles and make trading decisions rapidly.

Pickup instructors or Social Dynamics coaches, whose success or failure 'in field' relies so much on their attentiveness to social cues.

Yet another scientifically verified reason to drink LOTS of Green Tea daily; researchers in the United Kingdom confirmed that combining L-Theanine with caffeine "led to faster simple reaction time, faster numeric working memory reaction time, and improved sentence verification accuracy."

Other voracious consumers of Green Tea will agree, the beverage results in a not overly energetic creative state where words and ideas flow with grace and style. The inevitable stress and anxiety of life has not disappeared, but it is emotionally distant from you. You are more of a detached observer of your existence as opposed to a laborer in the trenches of it. At the same time it does deliver the 'buzz' that Biohackers, Lifehackers and workaholics rely on. To paraphrase some puffery from a far more expensive, yet dramatically inferior energizing beverage, it gives you wings.

Green Tea's proprietary taste family, Umami, is a product of Theanine. 200 MG of Zen, an article which appeared in Alternative and Complementary Therapies, noted that Theanine 'dials down' the bitter tastes of some of other natural consumables popular amongst Biohackers; Zinc, Chocolate, Coffee, Caffeine, Grapefruit, etc. This would suggest it may improve the taste of coffee, yet another reason to alternate drinking cups of coffee and Green Tea.

L-Theanine deserves a prominent place amongst the Anxiolytics Nootropics, which are an irreplaceable ingredient in the Limitless Mindset Recipe for Greatness. Like other Anxiolytics, it chemically mimics the Neurotransmitter GABA. If ‘Work hard, Play hard, Relax hard’ fits into your life philosophy the Anxiolytic class of Nootropics is something you definitely want to consume to correspond the days of the week you are ‘Relaxing Hard’.

In recent years, scientists have tested whether L-Theanine can effectively act as a protector against brain damage. One particular series of experiments pre-treated animals' brains with this component. They then conducted occlusion techniques to simulate oxygen deprivation which results in brain damage. Animals that were treated with L-Theanine prior to the occlusion actually showed less permanent brain damage as compared to the animals that received the control. The proposed mechanism for this protective ability involves some complex affects on glutamate receptors. So Free divers, snorkelers, sexual deviants who enjoy choking and anyone who subjects themselves to oxygen deprivation should strongly consider L-Theanine supplementation.

Various memory tasks that are commonly used in a laboratory testing environment have all been enhanced in animals that received L-Theanine prior to their behavioral task.Those of the transhumanist persuasion will be excited to learn that it was demonstrated in a 2012 study to increase lifespan by up to 4.4%.

Recommended Daily

Scientists have also not pinpointed a specific dosing regimen for this supplement, however the amounts that are commonly used range from 200-300 milligrams.There are a plethora of preliminary scientific studies that further support that L-theanine has a very probable benefit to many biological processes. Although many of these studies are still in the beginning stages, L-Theanine's ability to affect multiple areas of anatomical concern is profound. Scientists and medical doctors are continually amazed by how efficient this ingredient is at enhancing, improving, and facilitating a myriad of different pathways.

Side Effects:

A summary paper on the components of L-theanine reported that there are no scientifically proven side effects from this ingredient. Some users of L-theanine reported symptoms such as headache, dizziness, and upset stomach.

It's completely none addictive, however it would seem that the greatest danger of high L-Theanine consumption is falling in love with the creative, energetic yet tranquil person you become on it. Full disclosure; I just don't feel like myself if I'm not drinking green tea.

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